Fort Myers investors buy vacant U.S. 41 building

BUYER: JSMM41 Center LLC (principals: Martin Meyer III and James Stewart), Fort Myers

SELLER: HSBC Bank USA National Association as trustee for Morgan Stanley Capital 1 Inc. et al.

PROPERTY: 14181 S. Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers

PRICE: $2.3 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Warchol, Merchant & Rollings LLP, Cape Coral

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Fort Myers real estate investors Martin Meyer III and James Stewart purchased a 56,955-square-foot former Norris Furniture and Interiors building for $2.3 million.

The price equated to $40 per square foot.

The building, which occupies a 4.82-acre site, has been vacant for the past several years during the recession. It required a number of repairs, including the replacement of several air-conditioning units.

Chuck Smith of Lee & Associates Naples-Fort Myers represented the seller and Steve Wood of Colonial Square Realty represented the buyers.

“They really liked the location and wanted to do a redevelopment,” Wood says. “The market is starting to get a little bit better here. It was bought as an investment. They're thinking of redeveloping it into smaller retail units. If we can find a 30,000-square-foot retail tenant we could split up the second half with smaller tenants in the front.”

Wood says the property will likely be subdivided and built as a vanilla shell. He expects planning and approvals to take six to eight months. The space is being marketed for $6 to $14 a square foot.